Chp 1- QUESTION OF GOD' SEEABLENESS IN ABSTRACT
The Prophet's household, Aisha and a good deal of the Prophet's companions denied this matter absolutely. Philosophers, Mutazilites 1 and others adopted this question acceptably. The earlier group referred to the following sayings of God as their evidence:
(Nothing like a likeness of Him; and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. 42:11) 2
(You cannot see me. 7:143)
(Visions comprehend him not, and he comprehends all visions. 6:103) Intellectually, what is possibly seen by eyes should be a material substance occupying a definite place and time.
Hanbalites3 and followers of Asharism4 ; Hanafites 5, Malikites 6 and Shafiites 7,
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1. Mutazilism is an Islamic theological sect.
2. The Quranic texts are almostquoted from M.H. Shakir's translation of the Holy Quran. The first number after each Quranic text stands for the sura -chapter - while the other stands for the Verse.
3. Hanabalism is one of the four major Sunni jurisprudential sects, founded by Ahmed Bin Hanbal.
4. Asharism is an Islamic theological sect founded by Al-Ashari.
5. Hanafism is one of the four major Sunni jurisprudential sects, founded by Abu Haneefa.
6. Malikism is one of the four major Sunni jurisprudential sects, founded by Malik Bun Anas.
believe that Allah can be seen by mere eyes in this world or in the Hereafter. Their evidences were some Quranic Verses, a surface sight at which shows the ability of seeing Allah. Such as, (Some faces on that day shall be bright. Looking at [waiting for] their Lord. 75: 234) They also referred to a number of hadiths and narratives regarding possibility of seeing Allah in the Hereafter. Moreover, regarding Verses 8 and hadiths denying possibility of Allah's seeableness with mere eyes, they set up representation fitting their conception.
ADVENT OF NARRATIVES OF GOD'S SEEABLENESS AND CORPORALISM
During and after Omar's reign, conceptions of God's seeableness and corporalism were generally prevalent. The Prophet's household and some companions took the charge of refuting and belying such misallegations.
Like many others, UmmulMuminin 9, Aisha, was stunned by such odd sayings far away from Islamic beliefs and contrary to the Prophet's conveyance of Allah's mission.
Aisha expounded upon falsity of such narratives. She declared: "Such sayings are impending lies forged against Allah, the Elevated, and His Apostle. Muslims should refute and belie such malicious accusation."
The following is related in Al-Bukhari's As-Sahih (Book of hadith), part 6 page 50:
Masruq: I asked Aisha (God may please her) whether the Prophet (peace be upon him) had seen his Lord. "Your words have made my hair chill!" said Aisha, and added, "You should know three things the talker of which is surely a liar. He is certainly a fabricator that whoever tells of Mohammed's having seen his Lord. (Visions comprehend him not, and he comprehends all visions; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware. 6:103), (And it is not for any mortal
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7. Shafiism is one of the four major Sunni jurisprudential sects, founded by Mohammed Bin Idris Ashafii.
8. 'Verses in this regard stands for the Quranic texts, while hadith stands for the Prophetic texts.
9. Ummul-Muminin ( Mother of the believers) is a name exclusively said to the Prophet's wives.
that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil; 42:51).
He is also lying that whoever tells of realizing the morrow, (And no one knows what he shall earn on the morrow; and no one knows in what land he shall die. 31:34).
He is also lying that whoever tells of the Prophet's having concealed, (O Apostle! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message. 5:67). Yes indeed, the Prophet could see the Angel Gabriel twice in his actual appearance."
In His As-Sahih, part 8, page 166, Al-Bukhari also records:
Ashi'bi: Masruq: Aisha (God may please her) stated:
"He is fabricating that whoever tells of Mohammed's having seen his Lord, (Visions comprehend him not, and he comprehends all visions; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware.) He is fabricating that whoever claims of realizing the future, (Say: No one in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen but Allah. 27:65)."
Similar narratives are written down in Al-Bukhari's As-Sahih, volume 2, part 4 page 83 and Volume 3 part 6, page 50 and volume 4 page 83.
Muslim's AsSahih (Book of Hadith), part 1 page 110:
Aisha stated: "He is fabricating that whoever tells of Mohammed's having seen his Lord."
The same is recorded in An-Nisa'i's book of Tafseer -exegesis of the Holy Quran-, part 2.
On page 245 of the same previous reference, the following is recorded:
Abu Dherr stated: The Prophet saw his Lord by his heart, not eye."
This narrative is also written down in IrshadusSari, part 5, 7 and 10, page 276, 359 and 356. Ar-Razi, in his Al-Mettalibul-Aliya, volume 1, part 1 page 87, records the same.
In At-Tirmithi's As-Sunen, part 4 page 328, the following is recorded:
Masruq: I was before Aisha when she spoke: "O Abu Aisha! He is forging a serious falsification against Allah, that whoever discusses one of three subjects. He whoever claims of Mohammed's having seen his Lord is forging serious falsification against Allah Who says, (Visions comprehend him not, and he comprehends all visions; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware. 6:103), (And it is not for any mortal that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil. 42:51)."
I, immediately, sat erect and wondered: "O mother of believers! With relaxation answer me, please. God says, (And certainly he saw him in another descent. 53:13), (And of a truth he saw him on the clear horizon. 81:23)"
She commented, "By God I swear, I was the first who asked the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) about this matter. He answered that it was Gabriel whom he had seen. He also added that saving these two occasions, he had not seen the Angel in his actual appearance. He saw him descend from the heavens, blocking all what is between the heavens and earth due to tremendousness of his creation." She, then, added, "Similarly, he whoever claims of Mohammed's having concealed any of what was revealed to him, is forging serious accusation against Allah Who says, (O Apostle! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message. 5:67). He whoever claims of realizing the morrow is forging serious accusation against Allah Who says, (Say: No one in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen but Allah. 27:65).
At-Tirmithi commentates:
This hadith is authentic and qualified with a rather doubtful narrator. Masruq Bin AlAjda is called 'Abu Aisha'.
At-Tabari, in his book of Tafseer, part 27, page 30, relates the same narrative. On page 200 of the same reference, a similar hadith is written down:
Ashi'bi: Aisha stated, "He whoever claims of having seen his Lord is forging a serious falsification against Allah Who says, (Visions comprehend him not, and he comprehends all visions; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware.)"
Adopters of this conception claim that comprehension, in the Verse involved, stands for sight. They deny that Allah can be seen neither in this world nor in the Hereafter. Regarding the Verse, (Some faces on that day shall be bright. Looking at [waiting for] their Lord. 75:234), they allege that 'looking' in the Verse stands for waiting for God's mercy.
Ahmed, in his book of hadith, part 6, page 49, relates a similar narrative with the following addition:
Aisha said: Glorified be Allah! Your words have made my hair chill!
Al-Baghawi relates an alike narrative in part 4 page 30 of Massabihus-Sunneh.
As-Suheili, in Ar-Rawdhil-Enif, part 2, page 156 and An-Nuweiri, in Nihayetul-Ireb, part 8, page 16, hadith 295, relate the previous with the following addition:
Aisha said: "My hair is chilled."
As he relates a similar narrative in part 3 page 252 of his Al-Jawahirul-Hisan, At-Thalibi comments:
Al-Beihaqi opted for narratives of Aisha, Ibn Mas'ud and Abu Hureira involving that it was Gabriel, the Angel, who had been intended in the visions mentioned in the Verses, (Then he drew near, then he bowed… 53:8). Shureik's narrative, however, is repealed by Abu Dherr's most authentic one: "O Apostle of Allah! Have you seen your Lord?" asked Abu Dherr. "He is brilliance. How can I see brilliance?!" answered the Prophet.
Regarding God's saying, (The heart was not untrue in making him see what he saw. 53:11), Ibn Abbas claims that Mohammed (peace be upon him) has seen his Lord with eyes of his head. Aisha denies so: "I myself asked Allah's Apostle about these Verses. He told that Gabriel, the Angel, was the one seen."
Ibn Jazi, in his At-Tasihil, part 2, page 381, records:
Some claimed that the Prophet had seen Allah, the Elevated. Aisha denied this claim.
The following is recorded in At-Thehbi's Siyeru A'lamin-Nubela, part 2 page 166:
Aisha (God please her): "He whoever claims of Mohammed's having seen his Lord, is forging serious falsification against Allah, the Elevated. The Prophet saw Gabriel twice in his actual appearance which was blocking all what is between horizons."
We had no single evident narrative involving the Prophet's having seen his lord with his eyes. This question, however, is not that important since a Muslim may disregard. Regarding narratives of seeing Allah in dreams, a good number of variant acceptable reports has been related. Texts regarding seeing Allah with eyes in the Hereafter are so uninterrupted that certitude is obtained. AdDarqutni, AlBeihaqi and others compiled reports regarding the topic concerned.
At-Thehbi, in his commentary on Ahmed's book of hadith, part 6 page 2416, records:
Ibn Abi Edi: Dawud Bin Abi Hind: Ashi'bi: Masruq:
Before Aisha, I said, "God says, (And certainly he saw him in another descent. 53:13), (And of a truth he saw him on the clear horizon. 81:23)"
She commented: "I was the first who asked the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) about these Verses. He answered that it was Gabriel whom he had seen. He also added that saving these two occasions, he had not seen
the Angel in his actual appearance. He saw him descend from the heavens, blocking all what is between the heavens and earth due to tremendousness of his creation."
Muslim relates this report, numbered 177, to Ashi'bi. He records it in Chapter: Faith, Title:
Significance of God's saying, (And certainly he saw him in another descent.) AlBukhari, relating it to Ashi'bi and Masruq, records the report in part 8 page 466.
For AtTirmithi, the report is numbered 3278. In his book of Tafseer, he relates it to Sufian: Mujalid: Ashi'bi. It is, however, of authentic documentation.
Aisha's denial, in fact, included seeing Allah in the Hereafter. At-Tabari supports this meaning; therefore, At-Thehbi and others had to find acceptable construction for Aisha's reports particularly, and Verses and reports respecting denial of seeing Allah generally. Additionally, they forbade from debating reports respecting seeing God and the divine attributes. Besides, they denied and reckoned with deviation and atheism all those debating such subjects. Further discussion to be provided later on.
Ad-Dimiri's Hayatul-Hawanil-Kubra, part 2, page 71:
Aisha denied significance of the Prophet's having seen Allah mentioned in sura of Najm. She, in truth, denied the whole question of seeing God under any circumstance. Glorified and Elevated be Allah. He is more exalted and excellent than being described by localities, demarcated by attributers, accounted by times or denoted by places and zones. For these considerations, it is impracticable to describe His Essence as identified to a certain region, or movable from a place to another or falling in a certain place. It is related that Moses received the direct words of Allah from every side. Proving this, it is illicit to characterize Allah as occupier of a definite point and settler of a definite place. Unlike conception of the Hashawite 10 Hanbalites, His words are without letters or sounds.SIGNIFICANCE AND SOURCE OF FORGING LIES AGAINST ALLAH
It is not unacceptable to state that the origin of the expression of 'forging lies against Allah' is the Prophet. It is probable that Aisha and the Prophet's household adopted the expression from Allah.
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10. Hashawism is an Islamic theologian subsect.
Ahmed, in his book of hadith, part 3 page 491, relates:
Wathila Bin Al-Asqa: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The gravest forging against Allah are three:…"
Similarly, it is impracticable that this expression was used for describing the Jews.
In Majma'uzzawa'id, part 4 page 122, Al-Heithami records:
As he glanced at the Jews' datepalm trees, Abdullah Bin Rawaha stated, "I, by God, lack knowledge of creatures more functional in forging lies against Allah and more antagonistic to Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) than you."
The next narrative indicates that the Jews were the source of forging lies against Allah, the Elevated.
Al-Majlisi, in Biharul-Anwar, part 36 page 194, records:
Ibn Abbas: Omar Bin Al-Khattab asked Ka'bul-Ahbar whether he had retained the Torah. Ka'b answered affirmatively. A man attending at that session sought Omar's asking Ka'b to mention where God had been before he created the Throne, and from which element He, the Elevated, had created the water on which He located His Throne. "Yes, Amirul-Muminin!" answered Ka'b, "In the Wise Origin, we exposed that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, had been anterior before creation of the Throne. He was establishing Himself on the rock of Jerusalem in ether. As He willed to create His Throne, He salivated a single spit from which deep oceans and revolved waves were originated. There, He created His Throne from a part of the rock on which He was settling. The rest of that rock was taken as a mosque of His Sacredness."
Ali Bin Abi Talib, who was also attending, stood erect and shaked his dresses uttering expressions of glorifying and exalting the Lord. Omar adjured him to return to his place. Ali responded. "Sink for it, you great diver! What is your commentary, Abul-Hassan! You have been always relieving troubles," Omar addressed at Ali. "Wrong were your acquaintances!" Ali (peace be upon him) turned to Ka'b, "They distorted Book of Allah and inaugurated forging lies against Him. Woe is you, Ka'b! The rock you have intended should never accommodate Allah's exaltation, or comprehend His prominence. The ether you have mentioned should never maintain His sides. Had the rock and the ether been anterior, they would have had His anteriority. Allah, the Elevated, is more excellent than having an indicated place. Unlike sayings of unbelievers and surmise of the ignorant, Allah was existing when there was no place in a form unattainable by mentalities. My saying 'was' is a lack of His being. It is a part of what He had taught from mode of expression. Allah, the Magnified the Exalted, says, (He created man, taught him mode of expression. 55:34) Using 'was' for Him is a part of mode of expression He had taught so
that I would speak out His arguments and excellence. Our Lord was and still potent of doing whatever he desires, aware of everything. He, then, composed what He desires without referring to an occurring idea or an intercepting confusedness. He, the Magnified the Exalted, created a light originated from nothing. Then, darkness was prompted from that light. Like creation of light, He had the capability of creating darkness from nothing. From that darkness, He created a light from which a ruby, as crammed as seven heavens and seven earths. Owing to His chiding, the ruby deliquesced for His consensus. It was transferred into water shaky till Day of Resurrection. He then created His Throne from His own light, and established it on water. The Throne has ten thousand tongues, each is praising Allah in ten thousand totally different languages. Draperies of haze were down the Throne when settled on water. This is the significance of His saying, (And his throne was on water that he might manifest to you. 11:7).
Woe is you, Ka'b! He whose spit was these oceans, as you claim, should be greatly larger than being contained by the rock of Jerusalem or the ether you have indicated to."
Immediately, Omar Bin Al-Khattab laughed and confessed, "This is it, indeed. This is the knowledge, not yours, Ka'b. May God terminate me before being in time Abul-Hassan is absent."
In addition to many others, these persuading texts lead to perceiving that existence of a trace of the Jewish culture in the question had been the motive beyond such an abundant denial and firm situation.
